NATO KFOR MISSION: SWISS NOT PLANNING ANY CHANGES \

2009-03-20 16:40:00 09BERN127 Embassy Bern CONFIDENTIAL 09STATE26179 VZCZCXRO5710\ OO RUEHSR\ DE RUEHSW #0127/01 0791640\ ZNY CCCCC ZZH\ O 201640Z MAR 09\ FM AMEMBASSY BERN\ TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5730\ INFO RUEHXP/ALL NATO POST COLLECTIVE PRIORITY\ RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE PRIORITY 0006\ RUEHDL/AMEMBASSY DUBLIN PRIORITY 0087\ RUEHHE/AMEMBASSY HELSINKI PRIORITY 1172\ RUEHKV/AMEMBASSY KYIV PRIORITY 0009\ RUEHPS/AMEMBASSY PRISTINA PRIORITY 0035\ RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 0190\ RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM PRIORITY 3024\ RUEHVI/AMEMBASSY VIENNA PRIORITY 0855\ RUEHYE/AMEMBASSY YEREVAN PRIORITY 0057\ RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY\ RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 0330 C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BERN 000127 \ \ SIPDIS \ \ DEPT FOR EUR/RPM (C.DAVY) AND EUR/CE (C.HODGES) \ \ E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2019 \ TAGS: PREL MARR NATO KPKO KV SZ SUBJECT: NATO KFOR MISSION: SWISS NOT PLANNING ANY CHANGES \ IN FORCE CONTRIBUTION \ \ REF: STATE 26179 \ \ Classified By: Acting Political-Economic Affairs Counselor Chris Buck; \ reasons 1.4(b) and (d). \ \ -------------- - \ SWISS PLANNING NO CHANGES IN KFOR CONTRIBUTION \ -------------- - \ \ ¶1. (C) Acting POL-ECON Counselor and DAO representative \ delivered the reftel message on March 19 to Marlene Odermatt, \ Policy Advisor for International Relations and Strategy at \ the Swiss Federal Ministry of Defense. Odermatt said that \ Switzerland has no plans to change its current force \ contribution to KFOR. In collegial but appropriately \ cautious fashion, she referred to the fact that current Swiss \ DefMin Ueli Maurer generally espouses his Swiss People's \ Party (SVP) aversion to foreign deployments. However, \ Odermatt underlined that DefMin Maurer is well aware of the \ importance of Balkan security to Swiss interests, given the \ region's proximity to Switzerland and the large Kosovo expat \ population living in Switzerland. She further emphasized \ that the DefMin is taking a fact-based (i.e., \ non-ideological) approach to foreign deployment issues as \ they are discussed within the MOD. In that context, Odermatt \ mentioned that DefMin Maurer on his own initiative was in the \ early stages of considering travel to Kosovo, to visit the \ Swiss KFOR contingent (SWISSCOY) and Kosovo officials. \ \ ¶2. (C) Also on March 19, A/POL-ECON Counselor passed the \ message (reftel, para 5) via telephone to Didier Chassot, \ Swiss MFA Regional Coordinator for South-Eastern Europe; \ Chassot was not available to meet, due to pending travel out \ of Bern. In a follow up meeting at the MFA on March 20, \ Chassot informed A/POL-ECON Counselor that the MFA concurred \ with the USG's views and concerns with regard to the KFOR \ posture -- the "job is not yet done." Responding to \ A/POL-ECON Counselor's query regarding the Swiss government's \ current position with regard to the Kosovo Security Force \ Trust Fund, Chassot said that, although Switzerland is \ strongly committed to Kosovo's future, he does not believe it \ likely that Switzerland will make a contribution to the \ Kosovo Security Force Trust Fund, due to domestic political \ considerations. (Note: Though the Swiss arms industry \ routinely is permitted to make foreign commercial sales to a \ range of countries, the Swiss generally are more reluctant to \ provide foreign security assistance other than in ways that \ clearly have only humanitarian or civil-military \ applications, such as the types of training provided at the \ Swiss Geneva Center for Security Policy. End Note) \ \ -------------- \ QUICK REFERENCE: SWITZERLAND AND KOSOVO/KFOR \ -------------- \ \ ¶3. (U) Switzerland recognized Kosovo independence on February \ 27, 2008 -- ten days after Kosovo's declaration. In March \ 2008, Switzerland became one of the first countries to open \ an embassy in Pristina. FM Calmy-Rey traveled to Pristina \ for the opening. The Swiss government pledged CHR 77 million \ (USD 69 million) in development assistance over three years \ at the July 2008 international donors' conference for Kosovo. \ Approximately 150,000 Kosovo Albanians reside in \ Switzerland, most on long-term residency permits. \ \ ¶4. (U) The Swiss government made its initial decision to \ participate in KFOR in June 1999. Switzerland's \ participation in KFOR is based on UNSCR 1244 and a mandate \ from the Swiss Parliament. The parliamentary mandate was \ renewed last July through the end of 2011. Up to 220 Swiss \ military personnel (all volunteers only) serve in the \ SWISSCOY, which is composed of support and infantry \ companies, and an aviation detachment with two Superpuma \ transport helicopters. The SWISSCOY is stationed in \ Multinational Task Force South (MNTF-S),but can be employed \ throughout Kosovo. The Swiss personnel are co-located with \ Austrian personnel at Camp Casablanca. The Swiss MOD's \ budget for its KFOR deployment in 2008 was CHF 37.5 million \ \ BERN 00000127 002 OF 002 \ \ \ (USD 33.5 million). \ CARTER \